Last.



W. E. ELLIS.

LAST.

APPLICATION IILED JUNE 30, 1902.

928,909. Patented July 20. 1909.

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LAST.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 30, 1902.

928,909. Patented July 20. 1909.

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WARREN EUGENE ELLIS, Ol IIAVERHILL, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO IIRENTLER-ARNOLD HINGE LAST COMPANY, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, A COR- PORATION OF MICHIGAN.

LAST.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, l-Vannnn EUGENE EL- us, a citizen of the United States, and a resi dent'of Haverhill, in the county of and State of Massachusetts, have invented .certain new and useful Improvements in erations performed on the shoe, and will possess other advantageous features herein after pointed out.

To this end my invention viewed in its more complete embodiment consists primarily in the provision of a transversely divided last the heel and toe-portions of which are separated by certain peculiar lines of cut, substantially hereinafter described, in combination with means for connecting said portions in such manner that when the last is fully extended. its parts are rigidly locked against being collapsed by any pr vsure applied to a shoe by the processes of manutacture. while in withdrawing the last from a shoe :1 limited initial movement of withdrawal unlocks the parts of the last and shortens the last as a whole, whereupon a pivotal movement of the heel. portion of the.

last removes said portion from the shoe, leaving the toe portion tree to be withdrawn in the usual manner. Conversely, when the last is inserted into a shoe my construction permits the toe portion of the last to be pushed into place and the heel portion to be then turned easily. into the corresponding portion of the shoe, the final movement of insertion serving to extend the last and simultaneously lock the portions thereof in -their extended position.

My invention also includes less complete embodiments as well as the connecting member as an article of manufacture, ot simple and durable construct-ion. for connecting. the

heel and toe portions of my last, whereby their operation is etticiently provided for.

My invention is illiistrat'cd in the accompanying drawings, in which i Figure 1 shows in side elevation a last embodying my preferred construction. the parts being shown in the extended position; Fig. 2 is a side view, partly in central, longitudinal section, showing the same last with Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 80, 1902.

Patented July 20, 1909.

Serial No., l13,690.

its parts in the collapsed position; Fig. 3 is a view sin'iilar to Fig. 2, showing the parts of the last in an intermediate position; Fig. 4: is a detail View illustrating a modified form of connecting member suitable for use in the last shown in I igs. l, 2 and 3; Figs. 5,6 and 7 are views similar to Figs. 9. and 3, showing modified constructions, in theextended position.

The last shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings comprises a main or toe portion 2 and a heel portion 3, said portions being separated by a transverse cut at slanting upwardly and forwardly from the bottom of the last and terminating about midway be tween the top and the bottom thereof, and also by a recess 5 bounded by diverging lines (3, (S, which extend upward to thetop of the last, thus enabling theportions 2 and 3 to assume the position shown in Fig. 2. The portions 2 and 3 are so connected as to provide for a limited relative moven'ientthereof in the direction of the slanting line t, whereby said portions may be shifted from the position shown in Fig. '1 into the position shownin Fig. 3, and vice versa. The connections between said portions also provide for a pivotal movement of the portion 3 with respect to the portionQ, whereby said portions may be moved from the position shown in Fig. 3 into that-shown in Fig. 2, and vice versa, the arrangement being such that when the parts of the last are in the extended position, shown in Fig. 1, they will be rigidly locked against pivotal movement. The means which. I prefer to employ for eon necting the portions 2 and 3 as above described, and to which one portion of my invention relates, consists of a metal plate 7 provided with holes 8 and with slots 5) and 10, both running in the same direction, said plate being cut away in front of the lower end of the slot 10, for apurpose hereinafter, described. This plate 7 is immovably secured in a slot 11 formed vertically in the heel portion of the last, by means of pins 12 passing through the substance of the last and through the holes 8. The position of said plate is such that its front portion, which contains the slots 9 and 10, projects beyond the front endot' the portion 3 and into a vertical slot 13 formed in the portion 2, in alinement with the slot 11.. Pins M and 15 are inserted transversely into or through the toe portion 2 of the last and pass respectively through the upper ends of the slots 9 and 10 in the plate 7, when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1. As thus constructed, when the parts of the last are in the extended position, the pins 1-1 and 15 are located respectively within the slots 9 and 10, and thus prevent any move-v ment of the heel portion 3 with respect to the toe portion 2 except an upward sliding movementin the direction of the line of cut 4, but when the heel portion 8 has thus been slid upward sufliciently to bring the pin 15 below the lower end of the front wall of the this condition my last is rigid and practi cally solid, and is well adapted for use an original or lasting last. It is understood, of

course, that during the processes of manufacture the last is inverted, and is supported on a spindle which enters its heel portion 2-3, so that the pressures applied to the last during said processes of manufacture are downward and hence are incapable of producing the sliding movement necessary to unlock the parts of the last. When it is desired to remove a shoe from the last, an upward prcssure applied by the workman to the toe portion of the inverted last causes said portion to slide along the line of cut l and thus to unlock the portions 2 and This movement also results in shortening the last before the heel portion is withdrawn from the shoe, so that such withdrawal'is easily performed without causing any substantial binding of the portion 3 against the surrounding .parts of the shoe. lVhcn the last is inserted, the toe portion 2 is first pushed into place, the heel portion 3, turning on the pin 11 as an axis, is then easily inserted into the heel portion of the shoe, and the last is finally extended and locked by a sliding movement which brings the parts of the last into the position shown in Fig. 1.

In Fig. t I have shown a slightly modified connecting member 7, which diit'ers from the member 7 in that said member 7 has its lower slot 10' wholly surrounded by the metal of the plate itself, the lower end of said slot. 10 opening into a lateral extension or enlargement so shaped as to provide for the necessary movement of the plate 7 about the pin 14 as a center.

In Fig. 5 I have shown a modification in which the connecting member 7 is rigidly secured to the toe portion 2 of the .lastand moves in a slot formed in the heel portion In this modification the slot through which the pins 14 and 15 pass consists of straight portions 9 running in the same direction and parallel with the line of cut 4*, and curved portions 1O struck from the center about which the relative pivotal movement of the parts of the last is to occur. In the construction shown, this center coincides with the uppermost pin 12, and the lines of cut which separate the heel and toe portions of the last are the same as in the last shown in l igs. 1., 2 and 3. y

in the constructions previously described the come about which the relative pivotal movements 01" the parts of the last occur is located within the toe portion thereof. In Figuti I have shown another modification, in which said center is located in the heel portion of the last, the connecting member being rigidly secured to the toe portion as in the case of the modification shown in Fig. 5. in the last shown in Fig. 6 the recess which separates the toe portion 2 from the heel portion 3 has its bounding surfaces somewhat difi'ereutly located, the upwardly and forwardly slanting surface at the front of the transverse line of cut t" being extended somewhat above the upper end of the corresponding surface on the heel portion 3, so that when said heel portion has been slid up ard to unlock the parts of the last, the recess left between the portions 2 and 3 will be V-shaped. The connecting member used in this modification consistsot a plate 7 secured to the toe portion 2 by pins 12 in the manner previously described'and provided with parallel slots 9 and 10 throughwhich the pins let" and 15 pass, but in this case said plate 7' is cut away in front of the upper end of the slot 10 in such manner as to provide for the desired pivotal movement of the heel portion about the pin 14s as a center, after said heel portion has been slid upward into the intermediate position.

In Fig. 7 I have shown still another modificat'ion, in which the pivotal center is located in the line of out which separates the heel and toe portions of the last, the connecting member being rigidly secured to said heel portion. In this modification the lines of cut which separate the toe and heel portions 2 and 3 are or may be the same as in the last shown in Fig. (3. The connecting member consists of a plate?" rigidly secured to the heel portion 3 by means of pins 12 and provided with parallel slots 9 through which the pins 1-l" and 15 pass, said plate being so cut at the lower ends of said slots as to provide spaces 10 which permit the desired relative pivotal movement of the portions 2" and 3, in which movement the pins 14" and 15" are guided by the,ed ges of the plate which define said spaces. The center of pivotal movement. in this construction. is located at the vertex oi the angle formed by the flat front faces of the heel portion 3.

Viewed in its more complete eiiibodii'nent and preferred construction, it will be seen that the characteristic features of lastare the division of the last by lines of out which produce conforming surfaces extending upward and. for ard for a limited distance from the bottom of the last and a recess with diverging walls at the upper end of the conforming surfaces, and the combination therewith of means connecting the two rts of the last and providing for a guided relative movement thereof along the conforming surfaces, or substantially so, during; the initial 'novement of withdrawal and the hnal movementof insertion and for another relative movement of the two parts of the last on a short radius whereby the recess is closed after the initial movement of withdrawal and opened prior to the final increment of insertion. Thus in each of the constructions illustrated, the connecting incmbe" is so slotted to provide straight guiding surfaces for the pins with respect to which said member moves, which surfaces are. parallel with the slanting line of cut when the last is in its extended position, thereby providing for the relative sliding moiemeut of the heel and toe portions of the last whereby said portions are shifted fr'n'n the extended position of the last into what I have termed the intermediate position, and. vice versa. These guiding surfaces are formed in each instance by the sides of the straight slots, the width of which slots is substantially equal to the diameter of the pins which slide in them. The connecting member is also preferably so formed in each case as to provide curved guiding surfaces for said pins, which surfaces form confirmations or extensions of said straight guiding sur faces, the curved guiding surfaces being so shaped as to secure the desired relative movement between the portions of the last about a predeterminedcenter. For example, in the last shown in l1.' 1. 2 and 3 the cmvcd guiding surfaces are formed at the lower end of the slot 9 and by the edge of the plate 7 where itis cut away at. the lower end of the slot 10, this location of said surfaces being such as to permit a relative pivotal movement about the pin 14: as a center. in the last shown in Fig. the curved guiding surfaces are located at the edges of the slos 10, and are so shaped as tie-provide for a relative pivotal movement of the parts of the last about a point located in the toe portion thereof, namely, the center of the uppermost pin 12. in the last shown in Fig". (i said curved guiding surfaces are I located in front of the upper end of the slot 10" and at the upper end of the slot 9, and in the last shown in 7 said surfaces'are shown at 10].

The various modifications shown in the drawings intended merely to represent t 'cal examples of my construction, showthe point abeutwhich the relative pivotal movement of the portions of the last occurs may located either in the heel portion or in the toe portion of the last, or at the dividing line which separates them, and

also illustrating the securing of the connect- 0 ing member either tothe heel portion or to the toe portion, and l have not attempted to show" all possible modifications of my last,

either in respectto the connecting member or in respect to the exact-location and conformation of the lines of out which divide the portions of the last, since other possible moclificatioiiis of these features will. readily occur to those skilled in the art I consider those constructions in. which the connecting so member is rigidly secured to the heel portion of the last to be preferable to those in which said meinberis rigidly secured to-the toe portion, since the heel-portion of the last i has to undergo heavy strains and-pressures during the processes of manufacture of a 'shoe, and is stronger and more solid when 'mcmber issomewhat simpler of construction,

and the recess which is formed in the upper portion of the last when inthe extended position is not so deepas in the case of the last shown in Fig. 7, and hence in the former case a greater portion of the surface of the last is left smooth and continuous.

It will be noted that when my last iscolice lapsed, the heel portion thereof is still located behind the toe portion and does not overlap overhang the same to any substantial extent, and I consider this to be a valuable feature of my construction, for the 10",

reason that it facilitates the insertion or withdrawal. of the last, and also permits the last to be used with shoes the uppers of whic i are temporarily secured by the fastening devices employed for that purpose, without making it necessary to remove or relax such fastening; devices before inserting or withdrawing the last. I also consider the fact that the heel portion of my last is inserted. and withdrawn by a pivotal movement. after the last'has been somewhat shortened. to be a valuable and important characteristic of my last, because in practice it has been found Very difficult to insert the heel portion of a last especiall into an OX- ford shoe, by a sliding movement alone or by a pivotal movementwhich also brings the last into its most extended position. l also consider the type of 'coninictingmember which'l have shown and described, to be particularly well suited for its purpose, be-

cause it is strong and simple of C(IfllSfl'llCtlOll, and provides for guiding the heel and toe portions ofthe last, during their ,rclotire sliding movement, in such manner that all As between the con- 9o strains are supported by the metallic parts ofthe last, and the friction of the sliding movement is made much less than would be produced in case said heel and toe portions were in sliding contact at the slanting line of cut. However, I do not consider my invention to be limited to this particular type of connecting member, since other means may be employed for connecting the heel and toe portions of my last and providing for their operation in the manner above set forth.

I expressly disclaim the construction of the application Ser. No. 678,338, of \V. E. Trufant, as he entered the field prior to me as to the generic features of the invention covering a divided last having a vertical plate fastened to the heel-part and provided with a slot and notch, the forepart of the last being provided with two transverse pins for cooperation with the said slot and notch to connect the heel-part with the forepart.

I claim as my invention:

1. A last comprising heel and toe portions divided by a transverse cut extent'ling upward and forward for a limited distance from the bottom of the last, and by snr aces diverging from the upper end of said cut and providing a recess below the top of the last when the latter is in extended position, in combination with connecting means uniting said portions and providing for a relative guided movement thereof along said transverse cut and for an additional relative i slotted to provide guiding surfaces running parallel with said cut. and pins secured to the other portion of the last and passing the other portion, said plate being slotted tov receive two separated pins and to provide.

parallel guiding surfaces for each pin, and also formed. to provide curved continuations of each of said guiding surfaces, thereby permitting a relative movement between said plate and pins about a predetermined center, substantially as described.

its an article of manufacture, a connecting member for the heel and toe portions of a collapsible last, consisting of a plate adapted to be rigidly secured to one of said portions and to project into a slot formed in the other portion, said plate being provided with straight, parallel slotsfand cut away at one end of one of said slots, substantially as described.

t3. Asan article of mainifacturc, a connecting member for the heel and toe portions of a collapsible last, consisting of a plate tn-ovided with means adapting itto be rigidly secured to one of said portions and to project into a slot formed in the other portion, and a pin. said plate being provided with a parallel-sided pin-receiving slot having a slot-otl'set openingfrom one side and below the upper end thereof forming guiding surfaces for guiding a holding pin thereby permitting a combined sliding and pivotal movement between the plate and pin about a predetermined center.

7. A divided last comprising a fore part and a heel part separated along an oblique line of cut extending downwardly from the instep r arwardly toward the bottom of the heel, the upper forward end of the heel part i being cut away at an angle thereto to form through said slots. said plate being also formed to provide curved continuations of said guiding surfaces. permitting a relative movement bctwecn said plate and pins about a predeicrmined center. substantially as described.

It. .tlivst comprising," hccl and toe portionsv divided b a lransvcrsc cut slanting upward and forward from the bottom of the last. and l=v a recess the walls of which di .'cr;;e upward from said cut, said portionsdwing pr vided with alined vertical lots. in coup biuation with a plat rigidly secured in the an intervening ga p between said parts, and means connecting said parts constructed to 1 permit the. heel part to slide upwardly a slot in said heel portion and extending l'or \vrrd into the slot in the toe portion. said plate being provided with slots running parallel with said cut. and pins passing through said slots and held in said toe por- 1 I-lltlli di tance on the fore part and then turn t'orward thereon.

last. comprising a t'orepart and a heclpart. separated by a transverse cut eX- tending diag nally upward and forward [or a limited di tance from the bottom of the la--t t'or gi\ ingan extended horizontal overlap to the contacting urfaces fitting each other tightly when the last is extended, and by snrt'acc diverging from the upper end ot' --aid cut and pr viding a recess below the top of thc last when the latter is in xt nded p ition. in combination with a cen tral vcrtical l iing c-platc rigidly connected to the licelpart and slidingl and pivotally connected to the 'l'orcpart, said hinge and its pivotal connection being constructed and arranged with relationto the secant surfaces then to separate said overlapping urfaces angular-1y from each other, swingingthe upper diverging surface of the heelpart forward for closing said recess. 7

9'. A last, eoinprising'jieel and toe portions, divided transver ely, the rear end of said toe portion having'a long plane contacting surface for receiving the adjacent surface of the heel portion and providing a longitudinally extended horizontal overlap to the contacting surface: of said two portions, and above said contacting surface, diverging therefrontl forwardly, obliquely, in (flililblllfl' tion with a vertical hinge-plate fast in said heel portion and projecting into the rear end of said t'oe portion, said plate being provided with substantially straight parallel slots, one below the other, fixed transverse pins extending through said toe portion to occupy said slots, said hinge-plate being cut away at the lower end of the lower slot for the passage therefrom of the contained pin to permit the heelpart to slide and then turn upon the forepart.

In testin'iony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name this twenty-eighth day of June, 1902.

WVARR EN EUGENE 'ELLI S. \Vitnesscs:

hm-zmzmox W. MILLOY,

E. I). (finAnwieu. 

